Vollering Wins Chaotic Giro d'Italia Women Queen Stage In Santo Stefano di Cadore — But Van der Breggen Refuses To Crack
Demi Vollering finally got her hands on a stage of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women, sprinting clear of a small group of favourites to win the chaotic queen stage in Santo Stefano di Cadore. But the day belonged just as much to the rider she could not shake: maglia rosa Anna van der Breggen, who marked every move and finished second on the stage to keep her overall lead intact.
After the Nevegal time trial reshaped the race two days earlier, stage 5 served up a brutal day in the Dolomites with the general classification exploding far from the line. FDJ-SUEZ set a punishing tempo on the early climbs, and by the final ascent the lead group had been whittled down to a handful of genuine contenders battling for both the stage and the overall.
Vollering attacked repeatedly in an attempt to distance Van der Breggen, testing the SD Worx-Protime leader on every steep ramp. Each time, the comeback queen responded, refusing to give an inch on the climbs she had dominated in the time trial. When the move would not stick, Vollering settled for the consolation of the stage win, jumping early in the uphill finish to hold off Van der Breggen, Antonia Niedermaier of Canyon-SRAM and Lidl-Trek's Isabella Holmgren.
Behind the leaders, the climbing took a heavy toll. Elisa Longo Borghini crossed the line around fifteen seconds down after a determined chase, while world time trial champion Marlen Reusser endured a difficult afternoon, shipping close to a minute and slipping back on general classification. The relentless pace strung the peloton out across the mountainside and confirmed that this is now a race fought between a small handful of riders.
For Vollering, the victory is both a tonic and a frustration. She remains the strongest pure climber in the race on current evidence, yet for the second mountain test running she has been unable to crack Van der Breggen, whose form since returning to the top of the sport has been extraordinary. The stage win claws back a few bonus seconds, but the deficit on the road remains stubbornly large.
Van der Breggen, for her part, will be delighted. To win a mountain time trial by over a minute and then cover every attack on the hardest road stage of the race is the mark of a rider in complete control. With the corsa rosa heading toward its final showdown, the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women has a clear leader — and a defending order that Vollering must now find a way to overturn before the race reaches its conclusion.